The theory of condenser steam and non-condensable gas dynamics, generally described and disclosed by J. W. Harpster (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,526,755 and 7,065,970, the “'755 and '970 patents”, respectively) for power plant condensers, discloses how gas can form pockets in the tube bundle that are not under the direct or adequate influence of a vacuum pump attached to the condenser. These regions of the condenser tube bundle interfere with condensation of the steam and are the result of tube bundle configuration or inadequate venting that allow steam containing a small amount of non-condensable gas, such as from air in-leakage, to converge at a location, increase in gas concentration, and form these gas pockets.
Although a condenser can be designed and operated free of these undesirable conditions, practical modifications are needed for those condensers exhibiting this problem.